Chicago Bears: Where were David Montgomery targets?
The Chicago Bears said that they wanted a more versatile running back last year. However, they did not use the one they drafted
One of the things we heard throughout the 2019 offseason was that the Chicago Bears had a desire for a do-everything, versatile running back. Rumors swirled from the day Matt Nagy was hired that Jordan Howard was not a fit for his system.
Nagy wanted a running back who offered more pass-catching to his game. After a year in which Howard was targeted in the passing game just 26 times for the Chicago Bears in 2018, a decrease from the 32 targets he saw the season before he was dealt for a sixth-round pick.
In came David Montgomery, who Matt Nagy scouted himself and was sure would be a more versatile back. However, in his rookie season, Nagy targeted Montgomery 35 times in the passing game. That is just three more times than John Fox targeted Jordan Howard, and Fox never threw it to Howard.
That is just nine more times than he threw to Howard last year. What a huge increase.
Montgomery caught 25 passes for 185 yards, 7.4 yards per reception and turned in a touchdown. Howard caught 20 receptions for 145 yards, 7.3 yards per target. Five receptions for 40 yards on nine more targets were not what should be anticipated when the argument all offseason was that the team was moving up in the draft for a more reliable receiving back.
Granted, the lack of tight end production, lack of a consistent deep threat, and issues on the offensive line and at quarterback made things tougher in 2018 than 2019. Still, the team was trailing more often in 2019, where are the dump-offs to the running backs?
Next. Sign or Pass: Eric Ebron. dark
Tarik Cohen was targeted 13 more times in 2019 than in 2018 and had eight more receptions. Still, whether it be Trubisky missing a check down, or Nagy, not just flat-out calling passes to his running back like he said he wanted to, this is an issue that needs to be addressed this offseason.